


Assassin’s Tango

by orphan_account



Category: Lockwood & Co. - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Assassin AU, Assassination Attempt(s), Background Character Death, F/F, Lockwood is the target, Lucy Carlyle The Disaster Bi™, Lucy and Holly are BAMFs, This sounds a lot darker than it is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-17 16:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Lucy is the lead of a tuneless dance between sides of her own personal war.She has what she wants on her side of the battle, but her job says otherwise. She never liked to play it safe, but infiltration was never her strong suit.Her mission was to get close to Anthony Lockwood to take him out, but she found that Holly Munro was making that more and more difficult for her.Balancing a fake relationship and a real one was harder than she’d thought it would be.





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This work is inspired by a song from Mr. & Mrs. Smith called ‘Assassin’s Tango’, which you can listen to [here](https://youtu.be/fNk9rvacryo)! This is just an idea that I wrote out, so I’ll only post the rest if people actually want more from this.

“Can I get some scotch?”

The bartender nodded and turned to take another order. 

Lucy sighed and listened to the crowds of people in the club. She normally wasn’t one to come out and party, but Flo eventually convinced her. It was probably dangerous considering her line of work, but she allowed herself to loosen up for a bit. They had both just taken on a big assignment, so this was their way of celebrating. 

They both had their own separate methods of commemorating a successful kill. Flo typically went out to clubs and bars, while Lucy was more inclined towards going out for some food and treating herself to some rest. This, however, was one of the few times that Flo had managed to convince Lucy to go out and relax a bit. 

Relaxation tended to be a bit difficult, especially considering the fact that they were working under international assassins. 

Keeping an identity was always a struggle, so alcohol was only a hindrance to them. Lucy had to be much more careful, since she had higher-class cases. In bars, she was always casting subtle looks around to ensure that nobody was after her, and this club was no exception. She watched as Flo ordered a drink on the other side of the bar, beginning to strike up a conversation with a blond-haired guy next to her. 

Lucy idly tapped her nails against the counter and glanced around her. She watched boredly as Flo once again sauntered off into the crowd. As her gaze swept the clusters of people, her eyes suddenly met with those of the girl beside her. 

The girl had smooth, dark-chocolate skin, and Lucy found herself gazing into her melted caramel eyes. Her hair was the color of dark heartwood, and all Lucy wanted to do was run her hands through it. 

She quickly snapped herself out of it, looking away awkwardly. _Stop being gay and focus, damnit!_

The girl broke the spell soon after, smiling and batting her eyelashes. “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

Lucy responded breathlessly, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

—

They both talked for what felt like hours, simply getting to know each other. They both lost track of time as they had more drinks, but they knew that it had been a while. 

Lucy learned that the girl’s name was Holly, or so she said. She wasn’t entirely sure on her name, since Holly had mentioned that she wasn’t fond of giving out information to strangers. Lucy was completely invested in their conversation, even after taking a few more shots of whiskey. She absorbed every detail and subtle nuance with intrigue as they both chatted. 

That was, of course, until Holly asked the dreaded question; the one that Lucy could never truly find the correct answer to: 

“So, where do you work?”

Lucy fumbled for any answer that she may have had stored in the back of her mind. She hadn’t even anticipated talking to anyone tonight, let alone having a full conversation. 

She decided to stick with one of her less effective responses. “It’s not really important.”

Holly frowned. “Isn’t it?”

“Not really,” Lucy waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, it’s not good to give out too much info to a complete stranger.”

“You got me there,” Holly let out a small laugh at her words being turned against her. “Well, could I at least buy you a drink?”

A tense few moments hung in the air as Lucy thought. On one hand, she had to be wary of these types of scenarios, especially considering her line of work. On the other, Holly was attractive, smart, and seemed trustworthy enough. On top of that, Lucy had downed a few too many shots. 

“Alright,” she finally decided. 

Holly’s face lit up. “Thank you! And don’t worry, it’s on me.”

—

The bartender slid the drink over to Holly, who took a quick glance over to Lucy. 

Lucy seemed distracted by her friend, so she pulled out a small pill from her handbag. 

Holly slipped the tablet into Lucy’s drink, watching idly as it dissolved. 

She didn’t want to do this, but her company left her with no choice. They had given her information on Lucy, and she was described as “dangerous” and “cunning” among many other things. With this in mind, she was quite surprised at how easy it had been to get close enough to her. She couldn’t be too proud of her accomplishment, though, since she knew that she had to finish the job. 

She secretly hoped that Lucy was as good of an agent as they said, just so that she would figure Holly out in an instant. She really didn’t want Lucy to die.

On the other hand, a mission is a mission. Besides, she’d be fired if she didn’t get this job done. 

She hurriedly went onto her phone after the tablet dissolved, right as Lucy turned around from talking to her friend. 

She laughed lightly. “Man, I don’t know what Flo would do without me sometimes.”

Holly gave a small smile and nudged the drink closer. Lucy acquiesced to her silent request and tentatively pulled it closer. Holly silently prayed that she would catch on.

Lucy looked intently into the glass, then subtly dipped her finger into the drink and stirred it. 

She pulled out her finger, then frowned as the color of her nail polish changed to black. Holly’s eyes widened, then she quickly realized that it was an indicator. 

_Of course she has an indicator,_ she thought as a mixture of relief and dread flooded through her. _She is a professional assassin, after all._

Lucy let out a self-deprecating chuckle and reached down to her ankle. 

“I should've known you were too good to be true,” she muttered as she pulled something out from one of her boots. 

Holly noticed a glint from the object, but she wasn’t given a chance to react. 

In one swift motion, Lucy suddenly flicked open a switchblade and put it up to Holly’s throat. She put an arm around Holly to conceal the blade from the crowds of people. 

Lucy nudged her forward, then gestured for them to walk to the back room. 

They were both silent. Lucy went quiet out of feeling betrayed, and Holly was too stiff with anticipation to talk. She didn’t know what Lucy intended to do, but her mind was still racing with a variety of possibilities. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but Lucy was still pressed up against her as she was brought into the back. 

When they eventually reached a quieter area, Lucy pulled herself closer to Holly and tightened her grip on the switchblade. 

“Now tell me,” she murmured lowly into Holly’s ear, “who are you working for?”

Holly shuddered at Lucy’s tone and took a deep breath. “I-I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

“Really?” Lucy let out a small laugh. “In this position, you’re still not willing to compromise your position?”

“It’s not my place to say,” Holly returned, voice thin with trepidation. 

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped,” Lucy sighed. “Though, I have a few questions.”

Holly’s silence was permission enough to continue. 

“Is Holly your real name?”

“N-no,” she confessed. “It's the name I use on missions.”

“Good,” Lucy smiled a bit to herself. “Next, does your organization know about this fake name?”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Holly questioned back. 

“Just answer me,” she responded coldly. 

Holly sighed in defeat. “No, they don't know the aliases I use on missions.”

Lucy shifted a bit, but still kept the switchblade close to Holly. “Perfect. Do they track your location?”

“No, they don't track me on assignments.”

There was a contemplative silence on Lucy’s end. Holly’s gaze flicked around the room as she tried to distract herself from what Lucy might have been considering. She didn’t know what Lucy was planning for, but all she could do was hope that it didn’t end up with either of their deaths. 

Without warning, Lucy suddenly dropped the blade. Holly jumped at the loud clattering sound it made as it hit the floor, then Lucy quickly turned to face her.

“Last question,” she gave a sly smile. “Are you willing to join my organization?”

Holly’s eyes went wide at her request. “Are you ignoring the fact that I might have killed you back there?” she asked in disbelief. 

“Hey, I'm the one questioning here,” Lucy crossed her arms and smirked at her. “Besides, I've got a feeling it wasn't anything personal.”

It was silent for a moment. 

“So?” She held out her hand farther. “Are you in?”

Holly’s mind was all over the place. She couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things she’d leave behind, both good and bad. She realized that she had more of a future with a powerful organization like hers, and she’d get to see Lucy on a near-daily basis. 

With everything considered, Holly tentatively clasped Lucy’s hand in hers. She tightened their grip, then they both cracked a grin as they shook hands.


	2. Acclimating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly’s willing to take risks for them to work with each other, so why shouldn’t Lucy do the same?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies about the chapter being a bit late! Schoolwork has been stressful, but I’ve been finding time to get this part out. It’s not entirely proofread, but I was just too excited to get this chapter out. Also, it’s mostly dialogue, so just bear with me!

Lucy was startled awake by a loud ringing. It took her a long moment to figure out that it was her phone. 

She groaned as she turned to the side and picked it up. 

A red button and a green button lay at the bottom of the screen, and she realized she had a call. Her finger hovered over the ‘decline’ button before she noticed the name at the top of the screen:

_’Holly Munro’_

Lucy hurriedly accepted the call and put it up to her ear. 

“Hello?” she asked groggily. 

She could clearly hear a sigh of relief on the other line. “Thank goodness, I was worried you wouldn’t answer!”

“Hey, Hol.” Lucy tiredly smiled to herself. “What’s up?”

“I have a favor to ask,” Holly said hesitantly, “and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Just tell me already.” Lucy mumbled in return. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Alright,” Holly reluctantly complied. “I need a place to stay.”

“What?” Lucy sat up in her bed. She hadn’t expected her to say that. 

“Well, if I’m leaving behind my other organization, I’m going to need somewhere else to live. They know my address.”

Lucy said nothing as her mind rushed to think of how this would work. She hadn’t contacted Barnes or Flo yet, since she wanted them to know that she was clear-headed when asking about Holly. 

“Sorry,” she heard from the other line. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’ll hang up now.”

“No, no! It’s fine!” Lucy reassured hurriedly. “I just need to figure something out real quick!”

“Are you sure?” Holly asked bashfully. “I could always just book a hotel under a different name.”

Lucy hummed in thought, looking around her apartment. On one hand, Holly wouldn’t be entirely safe staying with her. Lucy always had a chance of being a target, so she didn’t want Holly to be in danger. Holly’s organization might take her back if they found out she was abandoning them. On the other hand, Lucy knew that they weren’t internationally based, so they weren’t likely to have the proper database to find her here. 

Finally, she answered, “You should come to my apartment.”

“W-what?” Holly stammered from the other line. “No, I-I couldn’t ask you to do that for me!”

“Too bad,” Lucy responded bluntly and rolled her eyes. “Get a pen and paper. I’m gonna give you my address.”

“But I- okay,” a reluctant and defeated voice sounded from the other line. Lucy could hear indiscernible shuffling before she spoke again. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Completely disregarding typical protocol for information, Lucy listed off the details of her address as Holly continued to write it down. After a minute or so, she finished. 

“You got all that?” Lucy clarified. 

“Yep!” Holly chirped back. “When should I be there?”

“Whenever’s fine, Hol. Take however much time you need.”

The call quickly hung up on the other end. Lucy was puzzled, but shrugged and fell back onto her bed. For the first time since she got into bed last night, she checked the time. 

_3:25 am. Goddamnit._

She made a valiant effort to not fall asleep before Holly got there. She splashed her face with water and walked around the apartment, anxiously checking her phone every couple of minutes. She wished more than anything that she’d placed a tracker on Holly, just so she could see how far away she was. 

Eventually, however, exhaustion got the best of her. Lucy’s eyelids started to flutter closed, and despite her typical insomniac tendencies, she couldn’t prevent sleep from overtaking her. 

—

She snapped back into consciousness when a soft knocking came from behind the front door. She quickly blinked the sleep out of her eyes and glanced around. 

_I really fell asleep standing up? That’s a new low._

She looked down at her phone and checked the time: _4:51 am._

Nothing really clicked in her head until she noticed the message from Holly at the bottom of the screen. She didn’t have enough time to read it before more knocking broke her from her sleepy haze. 

“Coming!” Lucy called back, voice rough with sleep. She slowly moved from her awkward position and made her way toward the door. She didn’t bother preparing herself or her apartment at that moment, since she had tried and failed earlier in the night. 

As the knocking became more hurried, she fruitlessly tried to compose her appearance. She looked through the lensed viewing hole and let out a heavy sigh of relief when she saw Holly standing awkwardly with a bag at her side. 

Lucy swung the door open without warning, making Holly squeak and jump. 

“Oh, hi! Sorry for bursting in like this.” 

“It’s no problem, really,” Lucy smiled softly at her. “Sorry about the wait. I accidentally fell asleep for a few minutes before you got here.”

Holly giggled at that. Lucy pulled the door open and gestured for her to come inside, watching as Holly stepped into the area with wide eyes. 

“I know it’s a mess, but I figured that only the bed would have to be clean since you’d be sleeping there,” Lucy sighed. “In hindsight, that was probably a bad choice.”

“Lucy!” Holly squawked. “I expected better of you! This place is a mess!”

As they both surveyed the clutter, Lucy shot her an exasperated expression. “Listen, I kill people for a living wage and a roof over my head. You think I give a damn about some clothes on the floor?”

“What floor?” Holly retorted, still shocked at the state of the apartment. “All I see are wrinkled shirts and leggings!”

After a moment of silence, Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. “Look, can we just drop it for now? I actually want sleep for once.”

Holly seemed to be deep in thought as she glanced around the mess of an apartment. Finally, she zoned back in and smiled at Lucy. “Alright, we’ll sleep.”

Lucy stared for a brief moment in wonder and confusion. Holly seemed to not only be attentive and energized, but she looked like she was glad to be awake. Lucy shook her head and walked into the living room. She’d never understand people like Holly. 

—

A few minutes passed before Lucy emerged from the living room. Holly watched dumbly as she unrolled a sleeping bag and draped it across the floor without warning. 

“Lights out!” Lucy barked tiredly from across the room. “It’s five in the morning and I’ve got a free day today, so don’t wake me up.” 

Before she could respond, Lucy punched the light switch and collapsed onto the sleeping bag. 

 

Suddenly surrounded by darkness, Holly was left sitting on the bed in stunned silence. She hadn’t realized it before, but the room was quite loud. Aside from the cars in the outside city, the apartment itself was noisier than she’d expected it to be. The fan was running above her, generating a calm and constant whir as the blades spun. 

She glanced around the room awkwardly before flopping back onto the bed. Holly felt a bit bad about making Lucy sleep on the floor while she slept on the bed, but she couldn’t negotiate it. She reluctantly closed her eyes, not wanting herself to feel bad about Lucy’s choice. 

—

Holly woke up calmly from a light sleep. 

She had conditioned herself to wake up early over the years, since she had worked many jobs that required her to be there at the crack of dawn. 

Sleep still wearing off, she rolled over, opened her phone, then nearly dropped it on the floor. She read the time: _10:47_. Her eyes widened at the time before she suddenly winced at how hard her head was pounding. 

The moment after that, Holly realized that she had no idea where she was. She instantly sat up, still left reeling from the relentless headache, then glanced around frantically. 

She initially didn’t recognize where she was, but she quickly noticed the disarray of the room and sighed in relief. It was Lucy’s apartment. 

Slightly more awake from the sudden rush of adrenaline, Holly wandered tiredly out of bed, clutching mindlessly at her head as she got up. 

She wasn’t used to hangovers, especially since she only drank alcohol on cases where she had to be inconspicuous. She stumbled a bit, both on the account of the clothes on the apartment floor and her own disorientation. 

She clutched at her head and shuffled to the kitchen, where she smelled something she couldn’t quite place. 

Holly froze when she saw Lucy in the kitchen, sitting on the counter and examining her nails boredly. 

“’Morning!” Lucy chimed. “Breakfast?”

—

After they ate, Lucy put the plates in the dishwasher, then turned around with a thoughtful expression on her face. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Holly asked, still cleaning the table off. 

“Well,” Lucy took off her apron. “Barnes is in a half-decent mood and knows I’m sober, so I think we have a shot at this. Before that, I have to talk to Flo.”

Holly stilled. “Who’s Flo?”

“My friend who was with me at the bar last night. She’s not my partner, but we work together a lot. Don’t worry, Hol, she’s really nice once you get to know her.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Holly smiled back at her. “I _do_ recall you putting in a good word for her after a few drinks last night.”

Lucy flushed and crossed her arms. “I won’t apologize for my drunk self. Either way, you should probably meet her before I ask about the job.”

—

One long video call later, Holly and Flo were acquaintances. Lucy had left the room a few times to let them get to know each other, so she was left in the dark as to anything they laughed or chatted about. 

Holly hung up the call, still giggling lightly when Lucy entered the room. 

“How’d it go?” Lucy leaned against the wall and smiled. “Did you give her a good first impression?”

“I’d like to think so,” Holly settled into her chair. “She and I had some… different views on certain things, but it went well.”

“Please elaborate on those ‘certain things’, Holly,” Lucy returned smugly. “I’d _love_ to hear what she says behind my back.”

“No, no!” she exclaimed, waving her hands around defensively. “It’s just that… well… she thinks the mess in your apartment is reasonable.”

Raising an eyebrow incredulously, Lucy folded her arms. “Really? Flo’s the biggest hoarder I know, so of _course_ she’d think it’s okay. Quite honestly, her place is worse than mine.”

“I’m fighting a losing battle.” Holly scoffed and crossed her legs. “This place is gonna get cleaned, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“If you insist,” Lucy chuckled. 

Dread still churned inside of her despite the nonchalance of the conversation. She still had to convince Flo and Barnes that Holly was a good fit for the position, but she couldn’t let them know how they actually met. 

Hell, she might have already come up with a cover story and didn’t even know it. 

She groaned and covered her face with her arm. _This is gonna be harder than I thought._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to add the whole ‘sharing-a-bed’ cliche, but I decided that it would probably be better if they started out as friends, no matter how tempting it is. 
> 
> Things are going to be getting a bit dicey soon, so the next chapter might take a bit longer than I expected. I hope you enjoyed! Any kudos and feedback is always appreciated and welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s how it all began... 
> 
> Well, thank you for reading this far! I’d love feedback or suggestions on other ideas for upcoming chapters. (Also, please forgive my inability to write good dialogue.)


End file.
